RANCHO CUCAMONGA >> Firefighters gained a significant upper hand Thursday in their fight against the Etiwanda Fire, increasing containment to about 53 percent as the blaze had now consumed more than 1,600 acres by evening.

The fire has moved out of the flats and was burning mainly in the foothills, fire officials announced shortly after 6:30 p.m. Crews strengthened containment lines and increased their protection of homes and other structures.

Despite the high number of fire personnel still working the fire lines, life seemed to have mostly returned to normal in nearby neighborhoods.

“I’m not as frightened as I was yesterday,” said Bethany Hendricks, 57, who returned Thursday to her Indian Wells Place neighborhood. “My home survived all of the chaos thanks to the firefighters and deputies.”

Many residents were back in their homes, and although the fire was still smoldering at the center, there was no visible smoke in the area and Forest Service patrols reported that they found no new hot spots on the perimeter of the fire.

Strong winds continued to be a factor Thursday, forcing fire officials to ground all fire-attack aircraft for a second day. Gusty Santa Ana winds were blowing at 20 to 35 mph with gusts up to 75 mph, the National Weather Service said.

Four aircraft, including a DC-10 air tanker, were on stand-by for when the winds died down, but one plane was permitted to take off to assess the fire.

The high-wind warning expired at 5 p.m. Thursday and a red flag warning, which means that there are critical fire weather conditions, expired three hours later, hopefully giving firefighters an edge.

Firefighters gained significant containment of the Etiwanda Fire, which has consumed about 1,627 acres of brush and vegetation, fire officials confirmed.

“They’ve done some great work today, but we’re definitely not out of the woods,” said Brian Grant, spokesman with the Socal Team 1, which is handling the fire.

One home received minor exterior damage though flames were close to other structures, according to Cal Fire. Two firefighters received minor eye injuries Wednesday and a third firefighter suffered from heat exhaustion Thursday.

The anticipation of a possible fire flare-up had drawn nearly 100 city, county and state law enforcement officers to the fire command post on East Avenue to handle more evacuations, if needed.

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“They’re rolling in county deputies to help man it,” said San Bernardino County sheriff’s Sgt. Greg Kreps.

But voluntary evacuations were lifted Thursday for residents north of Hillside Road, from Archibald Avenue to Milliken Avenue.

The evacuation center at Central Park was nearly empty by Thursday morning and was later closed at 5 p.m. to residents.

“I didn’t know what the fire was going to do so I stayed at the Hilton last night,” said Marla Sheats, 62, who returned home Thursday.

Los Osos, Rancho Cucamonga, Alta Loma and Etiwanda high schools will reopen today, said Chaffey Joint Union High School District Superintendant Mat Holton said Chaffey College’s Rancho Cucamonga campus is also expected to resume all operations today.

Holton said staff at the emergency operations center “shared the conditions have stabilized.” By Thursday evening, fire personnel were moving vehicles off the Los Osos parking lot, which had been used as a staging site for emergency personnel.

Outdoor activity at the high schools is expected to resume unless air-quality conditions change on Friday.

“We’ll look and see if there are any dangerous conditions,” he said.

Though not directly threatened by the fire, officials made the decision to close Rancho Cucamonga, Alta Loma and Etiwanda high schools Thursday over concerns about air quality throughout the northern part of the city.

Initially, officials had only planned to close Los Osos High School, which was closest to the flames. But after speaking with the city’s emergency operations center, Holton said he learned that Thursday was expected to be “a mirror image” of Wednesday with the high winds.

Some athletic events have been rescheduled for today or even until next week.

The Ayala and Chino Hills baseball game was rescheduled for Monday, and the Los Osos and Rancho Cucamonga baseball game rescheduled for today and Saturday.

The fire ignited around 8 a.m. Wednesday in Day Canyon amid 60 mph winds, which quickly drove flames across the canyon toward homes in north Rancho Cucamonga. More than 1,600 residents were forced to evacuate, but that evacuation order was later downgraded.

Central Park reopens today for normal business, and programs will resume as usual. Officials said there are currently no road closures, but they reminded residents to be aware of changes and take direction from officials.

Rancho Cucamonga Animal Care Center, which served as an evacuation center for animals, is open today at normal business hours.

The North Etiwanda Preserve is closed and visitors can check the website for updates.

Lupe Del Campos, a resident of Rancho Cucamonga who lives on Mountain Ash Court, said she’s not worried about another fire until more brush has time to grow in.

“I think maybe in five to 10 years we might have to worry about that again, but not anytime soon,” Campos said.

However, others are more nervous about the dry conditions in the Inland Empire.

Catherine Valatkas, a resident in northeast Rancho Cucamonga for nearly 10 years, evacuated her home and spent the night in a hotel. She said it was the second time she has had to leave because of a fire.

“It’s really scary now that we’re in a drought, and that brush behind us has not burned for 10 years,” Valatkas said. “I’m concerned about arsonists. A lot of crazy things have happened.”